


Pike finds some kittens

by JamieTayl



Series: Monsters and Mana [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Gay Shiro (Voltron), Monsters & Mana (Voltron), Multi, SHEITH - Freeform, klance, shance, shklance - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-23
Updated: 2020-01-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:17:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22380121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JamieTayl/pseuds/JamieTayl
Summary: Monsters and Mana au. Pike and his party find a dead bobcat. She has two kittens next to her. Pike decides to keep them.
Relationships: Keith/Lance/Shiro (Voltron)
Series: Monsters and Mana [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1881637
Comments: 5
Kudos: 103





	Pike finds some kittens

The party had completed a quest and were on their way to a village to stay at for the night. Pike had always camped outside in the past while the rest of the party stayed in a hotel, but winter was on its way and the cold wind would not be pleasant to sleep in. Pike leaped from branch to branch, far above the heads of his party members and way ahead of them. He was looking forward to curling up next to the fireplace. He glanced at something oddly shaped below him. He couldn’t see what it was, even with his sharp vision. He wouldn’t bother his party members with it unless it was important. He jumped from branch to branch down the tree until his paws rested on the earth. Yes, he had paws. They were shaped rather like human feet but had toe pads on the bottom and fur. He hid them in human shoes when he was near others, but his party members were the exception. 

He looked up from the ground to see what was in front of him. He breathed in sharply. In front of him was a bobcat lying on the ground, her paw caught in a trap, its metal teeth digging into her skin. Blood had dried on her leg. Beside her stomach were two young kittens. They looked to be about a month old. At this age, they should be exploring and seeking adventure. They lay still and did not make any sound. 

“Guys,” Pike’s voice cracked, “help!” He heard the sound of footfalls but did not look away. “Oh,” he heard Valayun gasp from behind him. He walked towards the bobcat and did was he had been dreading. He felt her neck for a pulse. She was deathly cold, colder than any living being, and she had no pulse. Pike felt colder than he had been a few minutes ago. He knew his friends stood behind him, but he couldn’t bear to see them. He could hear them shifting slightly and smell their scents, which reassured him. There was no point in delaying it. There was only one thing left to do. Pike felt his eyes watering but blinked the tears away. There was still hope. He gently picked up one of the kittens. It was so small. It’s marking were vertical black lines. He put a finger in front of the kitten’s face to feel for breath. He waited a few agonizing seconds until he felt a slight breeze on his finger, barely noticeable. He carefully watched the kitten’s chest for 30 seconds. There. The kitten was breathing! Pike finally let the tears flow, a small smile spreading across his face. One of them was alive. He finally looked behind him at his friends. Block smiled uncertainly at him. 

“This one’s alive,” Pike said softly. Block mirrored his smile. Pike put his bag on the ground and gently placed the kitten in it, just for now. He hesitantly picked up the second kitten. The black markings on this one’s face looked like human eyebrows. He put his finger in front of the kitten’s face, waiting with bated breath. He watched as the kitten’s chest rose and fell. Pike’s grin came back in full force. He placed this kitten with the other one. He took off his scarf. A few minutes passed while he meticulously arranged his scarf. Meklevar narrowed her eyes at him. 

“What are you doing,” she asked him. “Wait and see,” he told her. When he was satisfied, he picked up both kittens and place them in his scarf, where he had made a perfect kitty hammock. His face turned serious. “We need supplies to care for them. Let’s hurry.” He started walking, leaving no room for debate. No one told him they couldn’t keep the kittens. He walked as fast as he could without jostling the newest party members in their hammock.  
They arrived at the village at dusk. Pike turned to his party members. “I need a syringe without the needle to feed them. They’re too small to drink from a bowl.” Valayun produced a syringe from her bag and yanked out the needle. She handed him the syringe. He nodded at her. “We need skim milk.” 

“We could get that from the market tomorrow morning,” Meklevar suggested. Pike shook his head. “They need food now. Judging from...their situation, they haven’t had food in hours.” They stood silently for a few minutes. “There’s a farmer on the edge of town,” Gyro said, “we could get some milk from him. I’m sure he’ll understand us coming to him at this hour, under the circumstances.” Gyro always believed the best in people. Lance thought it was sweet but naive. Regardless, it was the only thing he could think of to get a large supply of milk. Gyro may have stopped by this village before, or gone through it. Perhaps he knew the farmer personally. They walked in silence, all hoping they would be able to save the kittens. Pike hadn’t checked their genders yet. He wanted to know as little about the kittens as possible until he knew they would make it. The more he knew about them, the more he would get attached. He felt one of the kittens move their paw slightly and felt their body heat through the scarf. His ‘don’t get attached’ policy wasn’t working. He felt fiercely protective of them.  
Gyro led them to the farmer’s door. It wasn’t too late at night, about 8:00 judging from when the sun went down. Gyro knocked on the door. They waited a minute, and then the door opened. A guy around Pike’s age stood there. He had his long black hair tied in a braid. When he saw Gyro Pike caught a glimpse of his smile before he launched himself into Gyro’s arms. Gyro squeezed the man tightly to his chest, then let go. They stared at each other for a while, until Valayun coughed to get their attention. Gyro turned to her. 

“This is my good friend Keith. His dad owns this farm,” Gyro explained. Pike’s lips pressed in a thin line. This man had literally thrown himself at Gyro. That didn’t look like friendship to him. He guessed Keith had a major crush on Gyro. That was fine. Pike had no problem with that. No problem at all. Lots of people in their travels had let their gaze linger on him. He couldn’t blame him. When Pike came back to reality he realized Keith was staring at his chest, where his lumpy scarf bulged suspiciously. 

“Do you have any skim milk?” He asked Keith. “Of course we do, it’s a farm,” Keith replied. Pike’s ears flattened against his head. “What do you mean, of course. How am I supposed to know about farming?” Pike crossed his arms. Keith glared back at him. He noticed Keith had violet eyes. Huh. Those were unusual. Was he an elf? He looked at his ears. Rounded, like a human’s. Pike stored that information for later. Gyro interrupted their conversation. 

“Can we have some skim milk, please,” Gyro said. “What do you want skim milk for?” Keith asked. Pike stepped in front of Gyro. “None of your business!” Pike hissed. “It’s my business if you’re using my milk!” Keith spat. Kieth’s face fell a second after he spoke. “I mean, it’s not my milk, its the cow’s milk. I just mean the milk belongs to me because the cows belong to me...” Keith continued to mutter under his breath about cows and milk. Pike smirked. Keith wasn’t trying to be rude, he was just awkward. Pike gently lifted the kitten with the eyebrow markings out of his scarf. Keith’s eyes widened.

“Oh,” he whispered. He looked up at Pike’s fluffy ears and down at the Kittens ears and back again. He wore a flabbergasted expression that made Pike laugh. “They’re adopted,” he explained. Comprehension dawned on Keith’s face. He crossed his arms and sulked in the doorway. He was even more awkward than Pike thought. Did he honestly think that Pike fathered these kittens? “So about that milk,” Meklevar kept them on task. Keith started. “Oh, right. Let me just-” “Keith,what’s happnin’” a deep voice interrupted from behind him. A middle-aged man emerged from the house. He surveyed the people on his doorstep. Recognition lit in his eyes when he saw Gyro. He opened his arms wide. Gyro stepped forward into his arms. They pat each other on the back three times and separated. “It’s good to see you again, son,” the man said. Pike’s ears stood straight up and his eyes widened. Was this Gyro’s father? “I’m Heith, Keith’s father,” the man introduced himself. Oh. Heith and Shiro must not be related then. Heith eyed Pike’s ears and tail, then his gaze traveled to the small bobcat in Pike’s arms. “We were hoping you could give us some skim milk,” Pike said hopefully. Pike never thought he would tire of milk, but he never wanted to hear about it again after this conversation. Heith nodded. “Any friend o’ Gyro’s is a friend o’ mine. Follow me.” Pike placed the kitten back in his scarf. The man led them into the house and pulled some milk out of his icebox. Thank the ancients. The man pulled a saucer out of a cabinet. “They’re too small to drink out of that,” Pike told him. It would be a few more weeks until they could drink out of that. Heith raised his eyebrows. He must be used to caring for animals, being a farmer and all, but cats were Pike’s specialty. Heith slid the milk over to Pike. Pike carefully put some milk in the syringe and fed the kitten. Pike felt lucky that the kittens still had enough energy to drink after being denied food so long in freezing weather. It was tough when kittens were born this time of year. 15 minutes later both kittens were happily napping in their scarf hammock, full and sated. The milk bottle was empty.  
“Um, sorry for using all your milk,” Pike said to Heith. The rest of his party members had accepting dinner from Heith and were eating with gusto. “It’s no issue.” Heith smiled warmly at him. “We have lots o’ cows, and I can’t think o’ a better use for their milk.” Pike smiled back at him. It was kind of him to give the kittens milk, but Pike didn’t know what they were going to do after this. There was no way of taking enough milk with them, and even if they could, it would go bad without an icebox. “I could use some help on the farm,” Heith gaze flitted between Gyro and Pike. “Hey, I help,” Keith retorted from next to Gyro. “More help,” Heith amended. Gyro looked at his friends, his gaze settling on Pike. “I would have to discuss it with my party,” Gyro said. Heith nodded.  
Heith let them stay the night. He only had three guestrooms. Heith offered to sleep on the sofa, but Pike said he would rather the kittens stay on the ground so they wouldn’t fall. It went without question he was staying with them. “Can I have any extra blankets and pillows you have?” he asked Heith. Heith nodded and brought him back an armload of bedding. “Here ya go, kiddo.” Heith set the mountain of stuff next to him. His party watched him curiously. Pike carefully arranged the bedding into a nest. He placed the kitten in the center of the nest. He took off his scarf and cloak, then lied down next to them, curling himself around them. The kittens sleepily snuggled up to him. “That is so cute,” he heard Block whisper. Pike twitched his ear. Block knew he had good hearing. Pike was actually nocturnal, but he had been sleeping during nighttime because his party members did. It made him tired all day, but it was worth being with his friends. Bobcats were also nocturnal, but the kits had such a long day they were sound asleep. His party members all went to their rooms, bidding him goodnight. Keith lurked in the corner until they were gone. 

Keith sat on the sofa and fidgeted with his arm, looking at Pike. Pike looked back at him. “Uh,” Keith said. Red tinted his cheeks. Pike raised one eyebrow. “Yes?” Keith looked at the wall next to him instead of looking at him. “I was wondering if- nevermind. Good night.” Keith stood up and took a step towards the hallway. “Wait,” Pike said,” what were you wondering?” Keith turned back to look at him. “I was wondering if I could pet the kittens?” Keith’s voiced trailed off at the end. If Pike didn’t have such good ears he wouldn’t have caught it. “Wait until tomorrow, when they’re awake,” Pike said. He smiled at Keith. Maybe he wasn’t so bad. Keith nodded, turned off the lights, and walked away. Pike pouted. He didn’t say goodnight. Pike settled back down onto the nest. He looked down at his kit’s faces. Tomorrow, he would check what their genders were, and brainstorm names. For now, he watched the rise and fall of their chests until he fell asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> I might add more to this. Please comment name suggestions (:


End file.
